Deck Review: Wild Waters Edge Tarot

I backed the Wild Waters Edge Tarot (created by Cynthia Beach) on Kickstarter, even though it’s a Majors Only + Oracle Deck (I prefer The Full 78), because it was one of the most joyous, vibrant decks I’d seen. In the flesh (paper?) it doesn’t disappoint – it’s like owning your own little fistful of sunshine 🌞. Beach describes it as “unique and groovy… with a 70s flair“, and I think that captures the deck’s vibes very well. I was an 80s kid myself, but it nevertheless reminds me a lot of my childhood, particularly my favourite picture books. Beach’s art has that same bold, naive-yet-knowing style to it, that invites you in to “this groovy world of high vibe fairytales, rainbows, optimism, and imagination.”

Beach trained in art therapy and education, and you can really tell from the way the deck uses simple yet approachable images to communicate its messages. She urges us to:

“Reconnect with our inner flower child through adult eyes. The muse calls to all who are ready to explore the wild side, the pure and innocent inner child still connected to nature and wonderment.”

The Deck: Look, Feel, and Finish

All the art in this 50 card deck is hand drawn, from Beach’s original watercolour paintings. There’s 24 Major Arcana cards (the OG 22, plus an additional Lovers and Devil card), plus 12 Oracle cards, 7 Chakra cards, and 2 Yes/No cards.

“Water is an ancient spiritual symbol and is rich with esoteric meaning. Water reflects the human spirit, healing, and the interconnectedness of all creation. To live on the edge is to exist between these mystical worlds of dreams, mystery, and reality. On the edge of the water, the earth and the sky. The earth grounds us, the sky inspires and frees us, and the water connects us to mysteries, memories and emotions. We bring the element of fire and passion in our spirit as we navigate our own unique spiritual path.”

The deck comes in a study cigar case type box, containing the cards and a leaflet with a QR code to the pdf guidebook. The guidebook is comprehensive, but very love&light. I think my read on some of the cards is a bit darker (or at least has the potential for more shadow), and I don’t want to go all ‘death-of-the-author’ – so I don’t know if I’m over-reading complexity into some of the designs or whether they’re there, just not mentioned in the guidebook (we do all know that I am a miserable old cynic after all!) The cards are slightly broader than the standard Tarot card size, on great quality matte cardstock. They feel luxurious in your hands. Nice matte silver edging, which is attractive without the worries that come with chipping on gilt finishes. And the card backs, with their starry eyes design, are just gorgeous. Overall I’m very impressed with the design and feel of the deck.

Greatest Hits: My Favourite Cards from The Wild Waters Edge Tarot

What I like about all the cards is the way the titles have been incorporated into the artwork, each one slightly different in style and font to reflect the energy of that card. Take this stunning Magician, with the four suits of the Minor Arcana streaming from his ‘…so below’ finger. Beach describes the “elemental forces danc[ing] in harmony, responding to his will“, and this is underlined by his bold black titling. Compared to the gentle pink drip of text running down the Botticelli’s Birth Of Venus-esque Empress, you really get a sense of how each element of the card has been carefully planned to work in harmony together.

This Chariot, with its leaping deer at sunrise, is not only stunning, but conveys the message of the card well. Deer are very good at short, intense bursts of speed, but become easily tired over distance (possibly one of the reasons why humans – the ultimate persistence predators – have always hunted them). In a way this can be seen as a metaphor for the Chariot: steely self-determination driving us forward at a fair old clap is a great energy to live in in the short-term, but over the long-term it’s not really sustainable.

The Wheel of Fortune as a child’s toy works for me, because the wheel of fate is pretty capricious at times (reminds me of the quotation from King Lear: “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; They kill us for their sport”).

And The Hanged One is so dreamy and gorgeous. As Beach explains, “by being upside down in the water she is suspended between two worlds. Her mind is open, and she is gaining insights, visions and new perspectives. Swimming with the fish she learns to surrender control to the universal flow. She may be pulled under or she may be enlightened, but worrying is not the answer.”

I’ve always enjoyed a chrysalis for the Death card, illustrating the vitalness of processes of change and transformation. Our caterpillar form has ‘died’, but our butterfly form continues on.  As Bakara Wintner writes in ‘WTF Is Tarot‘, “a snake does not mourn the loss of its old skin, and neither does the caterpillar lament its chrysalis. There is wisdom found in the animal kingdom in their relationship to transformation… To grow, you must outgrow”.

The Judgement card features one of those Biblically accurate angels: the all-seeing eye with wings, calling you up the cosmic path towards your destiny.

I love both these Devil cards. The idea of the Devil as a mosquito is so clever – the sorts of addictions and compulsive behaviour patterns the Devil card speaks to will suck the blood from us, draw the very life from our veins, just like a mosquito does. And at first glance a mosquito seems so innocuous, as do many of the things that tempt us into destruction – whereas in reality mosquitos kill more humans each year than any other animal (including us, despite the horrors we do to ourselves). I also like the little nod to the Morgan Greer classic I see here.

We see the same idea with the sneaky snake that winds you in its beautiful coils before finally sinking its venomous fangs in. (But mainly I just love the art for the snake Devil card – it’s *such* a beautiful card – the colours, the XV as a wave in her hair, the title winding its way up the snake’s coils).

This is a really beautifully illustrated deck, with each card being a little work of art. I just wish there were the Minor suits as well! You can buy the deck for £59 from the artist and creator’s Etsy store here.

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